


That letter

by DeVloer



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hunith Dies (Merlin), M/M, Protective Arthur, Sad Merlin (Merlin), Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 05:31:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19166791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeVloer/pseuds/DeVloer
Summary: Merlin gets a letter from Ealdor, and it's not good news.





	That letter

It was an ordinary day.

Merlin had been too late to bring breakfast, causing Arthur to make a fuss about it. They'd playfully bicker around until Arthur would order him to polish his armor, again.

Merlin did, proceeding with any of his daily chores. He'd continue till noon and bring the king his lunch.

Afterwards, Arthur would start the mountain paperwork while Merlin silently cleaned his room. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn't. Today that was the second one.

Both got slightly startled by the soft knocking on the door. They shared a questioning glance at each other before the king let the person in.

It was a young man, not any older than 20. His ginger curls fell over his green eyes. Neither of the two recognized him.

"Sire." He bowed down. "I have brought a message."

Arthur walked forward. "Continue."

Surprisingly, the messenger turned his attention to the servant. "It is for you."

Merlin rose a brow. "For me?"

"It's from Ealdor." He answered, reaching into his back. He held up a small envelope, giving it to the servant.

Merlin stared at it for a few moments. He looked up. "Thank you."

The person smiled slightly, although it didn't seem sincere. He glanced at the king, who gave his permission for him to leave.

The man nodded and bowed again before leaving the room.

Arthur went back to his table, not paying attention to his servant anymore.

Merlin opened the letter with one hand, his other holding a goblet of water. "Why would they send a letter from Ealdor?" He mumbled quietly under his breath.

The king shrugged, knowing Merlin didn't expect an answer. He reached for one of his papers, reading it over again.

The sound of metal clashing against wood clang through the room.

Arthur jumped up. "Merlin, what-" 

He cut off his own sentence. Before him stood Merlin, hand over his mouth and silent tears falling down his face. His trembling fingers were clasped around the letter. The goblet was laying sideways on the ground, a small splash of water around it.

He couldn't form words. He had never seen Merlin like this, it almost scared him. For about a minute they stood like that. Arthur watching him with worry, while Merlin stared at the letter, although he wasn't reading the words anymore.

And then he fell backwards. A loud sob escaped his lips.

Finally, Arthur jumped into action. He rushed forward, preventing Merlin from hitting his head on the wall. Merlin barely seemed to notice him, his knees collapsing beneath him and sinking to the ground. Arthur crouched down beside him.

Slowly, he pried the letter away from Merlin's grab. Another sob left him, and he put his hands over his face, hiding from the world.

Arthur read over the letter, feeling colder with each word. When he was finished he looked at his friend with pure sorrow.

Hunith had passed away from a fever.

"Oh, Merlin." He softly murmured. He sat down beside him deciding what the best way to comfort him was. He debated getting Gaius, but he refused to leave his friend in this state.

Merlin was unable to form sentences. He was now weeping loudly, his breath heaving unevenly. His shaking hands were gripping his hair so harshly, he was probably hurting himself.

Arthur grabbed his hands, making him look up. His eyes were blood-red from tears that were still streaming down his face.

"S-Sor-Sorry." He stuttered. The king couldn't believe his ears, he was apologizing? Why, he had done nothing wrong!

"Don't be." Arthur gently said, stroking his thumb over his fingers. "Come here."

Merlin let out a surprised whimper as his master leaned forward, pulling their chest together in a tight hug. After a few hesitant seconds, he hugged back. 

For just a moment, he didn't care he was staining Arthur's tunic. For just a moment, nothing mattered to him but the comfort his friend was giving.

He cried in the crook of his neck while repeating how he should have saved her or he should have been there or this couldn't be true.

Arthur kept mumbling soothing words in his ear. Cooing him to believe it wasn't his fault. He rubbed the other's back in slow circles.

They stayed like that for a while until both fell silent. Arthur noticed how the other's breathing had slowed down and when he pulled back he saw Merlin's eyes closed.

He smiled slightly to himself and stroked the other's hair. He didn't want to wake him so as carefully as he could, he stood up, pulling Merlin up as well. 

It was a weird position, but at least it kept Merlin asleep. With a few balancing steps he managed to make it to the bed. Slowly, he lowered his servant down. A soft groan escaped before he rolled over. 

Arthur grinned slightly to himself. He tucked him in and used the edge of the cover to dry his teary cheeks. He'd make sure Merlin would be excused for the following days, the man deserved to rest

Without much thought, Arthur leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on the other's forehead.

They would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea literally one second ago and just started writing lol
> 
> Not edited.


End file.
